There are actually 3 factors when it comes to depth of field. As you know, the aperture is one factor, a big one. The second one is focal length. A wide angle lens at f4 has a much bigger DOF than a 300mm lens at f4 (take your 70-300 lens and shoot some focus charts or some subject that catches your eye,using the same aperture, you'll see the difference).

The third thing that affects DOF is distance to the subject. That's why a 100mm lens at f13 a few inches from a subject (macro territory) has a tiny DOF, while the same lens using the same aperture with a subject across the street will have a much bigger DOF. There's mathmatics involved and JimC usually posts a link to a neat website that tells you all about it (but I don't remember what it is). It's enough that I'm aware of all three factors and have a vague idea how to apply them. I enjoy playing around so now I have an idea how to get what I want, I'm much better when I have a feel for something rather than using all the details.

In your case, you were using 300mm which would naturally have a small DOF, at close distanceand had to use about the smallest aperture the lens offers (and often lenses lose some of their sharpness at such small apertures).

P.S. Did you add the last one today? I don't remember seeing it before and I think it's wonderful!

As Harriet put it, to get the best DOF use the widest lens you have that is sharp and doesn't distort the image.

My 17mm (M42 screw mount) Fisheye has almost unlimited DOF even at extremely close distances, but it distorts everything.

My 200mm Macro does not distort, but has limited DOF, plus it magnifies movement of both the camera and the subject.

For flower shots try a 28mm or 35mm lens stopped down almost as far as it goes with a tripod. With the APSC sensor we are using I think you will find both your DOF and the natural image quality will work for you, at least it does for me.

Thanks for the tips Harriet and Tom. I do remember in my photography class a few years ago about the proportion of the DOF being larger in a longer area shot now that you mentioned it. At the time I only had a basic 35-80 lens and it didn't seem to matter much as I was always shooting landscapes. I'll try to remember this next time I'm shooting things like this.

Also, thanks for the comments on the photos. Yes, Harriet the newest two roses were just posted last night. As was the kids on the pier.

Very nice shots Patty. How do photography competitions at your fairs work? Do you pay an entry fee? Are the prizes ribbons or something else? There is an art festival in our town in late August. I have been told that there is a photography competition but I can't find any information about it on the website; been thinking about throwing some prints into the mix if I can figure it out though.

Tim, these are just rinky dink town fairs. There is no fee to submit photos. You send in a form and then bring your photos to their regulations before the fair. They all pretty much follow what I found out to be the Dutch system. Everyone gets a ribbon. So, the goal is to get as many first place ribbons as possible. Some of the fairs go beyond that and give best of class, best of show, etc. Last year I won a sponsor award where one of the sponsors chose mine (the series of 4 trees in the snow in b&amp;W - one of which I've posted here).

This fair in two weeks only gives $2.50 for a first place ribbon. Most of the others give anywhere between $5-$7. And, the amounts go down with each ribbon. Usually goes to fourth place ribbons.

So, certainly not a money maker. As a matter of fact, after you buy the mat and frame and spend the time putting it together you are definitely in the hole. So, we try to reuse mats and frames over the years.:-)

Yes, and btw, the photo competitions are hard to find in the flyer info or on the web pages. We had to write them about this upcoming one because they mentioned it, but then didn't have any info for it. Just not as important as the pigs and chickens!

Actually, we think we've upped the stakes at their fair by submitting last year. We realized when we went to the fair to see our stuff that our competition was just prints laying on a table, various sizes, mostly looked like taken by kids.